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Danusha Laméris

I've always thought it was the small things in life that shape our days--saying hello and getting a big smile from the UPS guy, holding the door for someone, carrying the groceries home for an older woman...

I first saw this poem, written by Danusha Laméris, on a fellow writer, Lily Diamond's substack (check her out) and asked permission to include it here, as it expressed exactly what I have been thinking for a long time now. Laméris's poem was originally published in the New York Times in 2019.

SMALL KINDNESSES
by Danusha Laméris

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk

down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs

to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”

when someone sneezes, a leftover

from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.

And sometimes, when you spill lemons

from your grocery bag, someone else will help you

pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.

We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,

and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile

at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress

to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,

and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.

We have so little of each other, now. So far

from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.

What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these

fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,

have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”

Danusha Laméris, born to a Dutch father and a Barbadian mom, is a poet and essayist living in California. She has published three books: Moons of August, Bonfire Opera, most recently Blade by Blade and her work has been included in many publications including The Best American Poetry, The New York Times, Orion, The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, and Prairie Schooner. She has won many awards for her writing and was chosen as the Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, California in 2018-2020. She is currently on the faculty of Pacific University’s low residency MFA program.

Ancient Remedies

Western Medicine has been around for only 200 years (the American Medical Association was founded in 1847), whereas ancient cultures such as China, Greece, India and the Middle East created sophisticated medical systems over 4000 years ago that in many cases are still in use today. These systems espoused a more wholistic approach: diet, herbs, essential oils, acupuncture, exercise, meditation and spending time in nature. Sounds familiar? Many of us are acknowledging this ancient wisdom and turning back to knowledge we have more or less ignored or lost in modern times... Dr. Josh Axe's book Ancient Remedies, written in 2021, is a useful guide in teaching us everything we need to know about getting, and staying, healthy—without toxic, costly synthetic drugs. Did you know that there is promising evidence that sage extract can improve brain and memory function, especially in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Or that curcumin (contained in turmeric) is strongly anti-inflammatory, to the point where it matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs. And that cinnamon has potent antioxidant activity, helps fight inflammation and has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. It can also lower blood sugar by several mechanisms, including by slowing the breakdown of carbs in the digestive tract and improving insulin sensitivity.

If you want to go into more depth, the classic The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide will take you one step further and show you practical tips, in-depth preparation techniques and best formulas for making your own remedies at home.

I am not saying modern medicine and pharmaceuticals have no use--we have made amazing advances in the field of modern medicine over the years, but these ancient remedies are re-worth taking a look at and considering...

Michael Moore and the Polls

Michael Moore was right in 2016 when he predicted Trump would beat Hillary Clinton. (I don't mean to brag but I was one of the few who came to the same conclusion at that time.) In the end, in 2020, Moore predicted a Biden win when everyone was predicting the opposite and he was right again. I don't want to jinx it and I certainly want to warn against complacency (I for one am spending every weekend of October in Pennsylvania and I urge all of you to, as Michelle Obama says, Please Please Please "DO SOMETHING!."

I am not ready to make a prediction yet but this is what Michael Moore is saying now and maybe it is wishful thinking--I so desperately want to believe: "Do the Math: Trump Is Toast"

To read his analysis, go to his substack post of October 4, 2024." Please take the time to click this link if you can...

NOTE: My writer friend who I went to high school with, Carol Weston, author of sixteen fiction and nonfiction books is hosting a writing workshop retreat in a chateau in France next spring. Contact her directly if you are interested in going...I think there are only a couple spots left...

Paintings of the Week

On my studio wall today, among other things...

Charity of the Week: Voters of Tomorrow

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.